Harry's Boring Day
by HawkDramione
Summary: For once in his life, the trouble didn't go knocking on Harry's door, but the Boy Who Lived went seeking trouble by himself. It would be good if he didn't accidentally drag Hermione in his mess also.
1. Prologue

**SHAME ON ME! I should be finishing my other fics! But here I am =.=!**

 **The idea isn't mine, but NadiixD's. I have the permission to continue it into a story (yay! thank you NadiixD). Hope y'all enjoy it.**

* * *

Harry was bored beyond word. It was a new feeling that the Boy Who Lived had to admit that was somewhat foreign. He had gotten so used to rushing to save the world and forgetting to think for himself. It was his destiny. But then, when everything seemed to have settled itself down, Harry did not know what to do.

Lying lazily on the couch, Harry sneaked a glance toward his best friend, Hermione. The brightest witch of her age was having her nose stuck in a thick book yet again. It should have been impossible, Harry thought, after seven years spending their life in Hogwarts, she was supposed to have read them all. Not to mention that the examination was already over, what was the point of being so engrossed in a book? He voiced his thought out loud.

"It was because of that attitude that Kingsley kicked you back to Hogwarts." – The brunette replied without sparing him a glance. Harry groaned and flipped himself upside down on the couch.

After the war, the trio each was offered a position in the Auror Department. Needless to say, Harry and Ron jumped right at the chance without a second thought – no need for school again! Hermione, totally predictably, had declined and came back to Hogwarts, much to the delight of Professor McGonagall. But thing wasn't that simple, because, as Ron had said: "We can't last a day without her!", their lack of a certain amount of knowledge was unacceptable, even for heroes. Harry was literally kicked back to school while Ron chose a different path. The ginger was now running the Weasley Shop with his brother George. In the lastest update, Harry was informed that Ron was about to travel to America, in order to expand their family bussiness.

Lucky him.

Life without his ginger mate was exceptionally boring.

Not that Harry didn't like having Hermione around, just, she was not Ron.

It was already passed midnight, and there were only two of them left in the Common Room. Harry's mind had gone to a brain-numbingly level of boredom that it started to caculate his chance of surviving if he sticked his head in the fireplace. Harry was that desperated. Next to him Hermione showed no intention of leaving her seat before finishing the book. Harry moved his focus back to the fireplace…

"Don't you dare." – Hermione warned in a sing song voice. And he thought she didn't notice! Harry huffed, rather childishly, on his way to crawl – yes, crawl! – to the fireplace. He dropped his head on the carpet, and that was when he saw it.

Nope, better not let Hermione know he found it. Harry fixxed his gaze quickly to the ceiling, barely contained his excitement. Oh and the witch thought she was so clever! Dropped on the floor, right next to Hermione's feet, was a Time Turner.

His day might not have gone in vain.

Conceal, don't feel… Hermione turned another page, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Never in his life had Harry felt so grateful with a Rune book. He dropped his feet down from couch, landing it next to Hermione's.

No suspicion. Good.

Hermione sighed, rubbing her forehead. That was it! His chance was coming! She titled her head aside, eyes closed, tired of being in a position for too long. Harry kicked the Time Turner to his hand and tugged it in his pocket in a blink. Hermione turned to him.

Conceal, don't feel…

She turned back to her book. He passed!

"I'm going to bed." – Stretching himself up, Harry faked a yawn. – "You should rest too Hermy. The book will still be there in the morning."

"Yeah, good night Harry." – His brunette friend was still so engrossed in the book. There was no way she would notice the missing Time Turner soon. Smiling to himself, Harry skipped to the staircase, head filled with ideas of what to do with this brand new opportunity.

Harry halted suddenly on his step. Never before had he been interested in studying the Time Turner, other than what Hermione had told him since third year. He had literally no idea how long it could take him back in time. Seemed like a day of studying was required. Sighing, Harry took off his socks and jumped on the bed. The little necklace had managed to capture his interest. What if he could go back years before? The possibilities were endless. But first he needed to sleep.


	2. What Do We Do?

To say Hermione was furious was an understatement. Her mood was more of a murderous level. In front of her, the scrawny boy smiled a bit sheepishly.

If they were in a cartoon movie, her head must have been on fire.

"We're alive! Yay!" – Harry offered a weak cheer, to which she replied with a glare promising of slow and painful death.

The broken Time Turner laid innocently on the ground between them. Hermione took a deep breath, reminding herself she needed oxygen to kill Harry Potter later, when they worked out a way to get back to their time era.

Which said, they didn't know where, or more importantly when, they had landed.

Breath, Hermione, breath. She told herself. At the very least she had carried her wand with her.

"I don't suppose you know a spell that can help us get home, eh?"

The curly hair witch refused to look at her companion, because she wasn't sure she had the strength not to crucio him right then.

"One second, Harry Potter." – Harry winced at every syllabel she spatted at him. – "Just for one second, Potter, I wish you can survive without me."

"Sorry…"

"For a whole school year I finally had the peace I deserve, I don't have to check my back every second, I don't have to watch your back! For a whole school year I had thought that this is it! My time! My peace! No more running, wrecking havoc, causing troubles, hunting horcuxes, killing dark lords! And then YOU!" – The shriek she made was not entirely human, making Harry jump a step back behind. – "YOU! HARRY POTTER! YOU MESSED UP AT THE VERY LAST SECOND! TWO MORE WEEKS! TWO MORE WEEKS AND MY YEAR IS COMPLETE AND YOU HAPPENED!" – The wand shook violently in Hermione's hand, at the tip of it fire sparkled. Harry had his wand out, although more in a defensive position he was. Hermione closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down by imagining Ron's gleeful face when she bought a fortune of his shop to torture Harry. It worked, somewhat.

Harry was still in a defensive position when she finally opened her eyes. The tip of her wand was still cracking fire though. Hermione ignored him as she snatched up her broken Time Turner on the ground and looked up to survey their surrounding. Bloody brilliant, they were in a forest! Basing solely on how ancient and strange looking all the plants around them, plus a foreign silent and content mood the forest seemed to be in, Hermione would bet good money that the idiot of a hero had managed to brought them several centuries back in time.

She would know more if they found any civillians around them. It was a lucky thing History had always been a subject of Hermione's interest.

"What do we do?" – Behind her, Harry asked cautiously. Better knock something in his skull after all that time.

"We find water." – Hermione replied coolly. The sun was up high, probably past mid-day. – "And if we're lucky, we'll find a village."


	3. M'lady?

The two magic-wielders moved silently through the forest, weeks of running and hidding were still vivid in their minds. Every once in a while, Hermione would stop to check her way again. Harry followed almost soundlessly behind, covered their back. They fell into a familiar routine, one they had months to perfect.

"Merlin!" – Hermione breathed, leaning on a tree. On her caculating, they had been moving for at least two hours. Still no sign of a stream, or a river, or any other humans. Harry stopped next to her, still silently secured their surrounding. – "Next time you do something stupid, don't call me in."

Harry offered her a more natural smile, perhaps deciding her anger with him had subbed. – "I'll give Ron a ring."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stood up straight again. Point Me, to this time, was proved to be useful at pointing North, not water. Frowning, the witch put her wand back in her sleeve. – "Let's pray we find something befAAARHH!"

"HERMIONE!"

Her ankle slipped from a rock and took an unexpected twist of angle, dragging her body down with it. Hermione wrung her hand up to catch Harry's, but the ground underneath her gave in, and she slipped.

"HARRY!"

"HERMIONE!"

"ARTHUR!"

"AAARRGGHHH!"

Hermione's head came in contact with a solid surface, her vision became a blur of colours, and the pain in her ankle popped up a new level.

The ground beneath her groaned.

"Arthur! Arthur?"

"Ouch! Merlin, help."

Say what?

*Line break*

It was totally a good day to sneak out of the castle to go hunting in the forest.

In other word, it wasn't.

Arthur just barely had time to register the shock on his manservant's face when something – _someone_ – shrieked and landed properly right on top of him. Arthur's face greeted the ground goriously, his teeth hurt, his nose too, and the weight on top of him was very much unwelcomed.

"Arthur! Arthur?"

"Ouch!" – Spitting the dirt out of his mouth, the prince of Camelot finally gained enough senses to recognize that a _girl_ was lying on top of him. That ruled out the option of pushing her down. Arthur's ear went a little pink as she shifted, groaning probably from pain. – "Merlin, help!"

The clumsy manservant ran up to them, mouth gasping like a fish out of water. Arthur grumbled, how perfect timing of his. The sound shook Merlin out of whatever daze he'd gotten himself in, as the boy bent down and scooped up the weight out of Arthur (still very clumsily, he might add).

Crawling his way out and finally being able to take a look at his unwelcomed surprise, Arthur found his mouth dropped the ground, and very much gasping like a fish, too.

Laying half consciously in Merlin's arm was a _girl_. And just not any girls, but a girl! Like, how to say!? Arthur felt his face heat up staring at the revealing skin below her very unproperly short skirt, not to mention the tight white blouse she was in. For a brief moment the prince's mind swarm with threats a girl like that could face in a forest alone.

The blonde prince stared at his brunette manservant, then back at the girl. Again, she shifted, groaning in pain, almost dropped to the ground again for starling poor Merlin, if it wasn't for Arthur's quick reflex. The tips of his ears was burning by this point.

"What do we do?" – Merlin mouthed, pointing at the girl (still only half conscious) in Arthur's arms. He shifted his arm so her head fell into a better position, leaning in his broad chest (he may or maynot purposely do it). Her neat bun fell out, revealing wild brown curls. Arthur willed his eyes not to travel south, but to remain solely on her face.

"M'lady?" – Arthur tried gently shook her shoulder, while Merlin – for a tiny bright moment in his life – remembered the water they had packed and ran for it (typical Merlin, dropping their bag on the ground any moment). It took several shake, and her eyes flew open.

"Oh…" – She blinked, trying to clear her vision. Arthur stared into her dark orbs, a new sensation crawled in his gut.

"Water!"

The prince looked up just in time to narrowly avoid the bag hitting at his face, while his arms out of habit clutching the strange girl closer to him. Sending a glare at a sheepish Merlin, Arthur lifted the girl up. – "Have some water, m'lady."

He didn't need to look to tell Merlin was snickering at his awe-strucked face. He would get his revenge later.

Gazing unfocusly pass his shoulder, the girl swallowed a small gulp of water. It seemed to bring some life back to her face as her eyes slowly gained its focus. – "Where's Harry?"

"Who?" – Her companion, perhaps? Merlin had retreated to his usual place behind Arthur, no doubt yearning every word she said.

"Harry." – The strange girl coughed, and very reluctantly, Arthur helped her to sit up (he was raised like a prince, there were lessons on manners) and kept her at arm length.

"Merlin, go, see if you find any other." – Arthur barked an order, feeling oddly relax at having something familiar to do, rather than dealing with a girl in the forest. His manservant sighed, and quickly stood up at the glare of the prince. Arthur's attention once again fell back to the girl, only to find her comically wide eyes staring at him.


	4. She Is A Princess

If Hermione didn't kill him after this, Ron would, after Hermione exploded when they got home.

If they got home.

Three pairs of eyes landed on him, one of Hermione, and two of other males. Harry might be sleeping in all of his History of Magic class, but he was not a total hopeless idiot. He had basic knowledge to tell he had brought them back quite far back in time, based on the strangers' clothings – one brunette and one blonde (the blonde seemed to be in a higher social status).

The brunette's eyes fell down on the wand Harry was carrying, a sparkle of recognization passed on his face. Harry clutched his wand tighter.

"Harry?" – Hermione called, having to be in a daze.

"Hermione are you okay?" – He made a move forward, but was blocked by the brunette. Harry narrowed his eyes at the stranger. Who did he think he was?

"Merlin." – The blonde warned. Wow. What? Merlin? As a natural reaction, Harry shot a glance toward Hermione. She replied with a horrid expression and a discreet shake of her head. – "That's the lady's companion."

Harry tried to make another step, Merlin blocked him. The blonde (wait, did that mean that was the Arthur!?) made an irritated noise. – "Merlin…"

"He's a magic wielder." – Well that explained the recognization in Merlin's eyes he'd caught earlier. But it didn't explain why Arthur sprang forward in a strike.

Behind him, Hermione was shaking her head. Goddamit, what was she trying to tell him?

Arthur said something, but Harry was too focused on Hermione's secret message. He turned back to the king (prince?). – "Pardon?"

Hermione made a move that caught his attention, again.

 _No. Magic. Hate. Law. We. Doom._ She mouthed.

Now this was the part of history that Harry had slept through. If Hermione said they were doomed, they were.

But Harry wasn't the Chosen One for his negative thought. Absolutely not, especially when his friend was in danger.

"Please hear me out, Prince Arthur, we mean you no harm." – The witch pleaded, catching the attention of Arthur, while Merlin was totally unfazed and focused solely on Harry. _Work, brain, work that brilliant potential in you!_

"… we were travelling in the wood…" –Hermione trailed off. This was where Harry jumped in.

"We were running actually."

 _What?_ Hermione shot him a warning glare, which Arthur had missed. _Just play along._ Harry replied with a wince.

"Why were you running?" – Arthur questioned. WORK, BRAIN, WORK!

"Well, erh…" – For the brightest witch of her age, the clueless expression on Hermione was quite priceless, which Harry would never forget and tease her immensly about if they were in another situation.

"It's a rather long story…" – He would die this time, Harry was sure about it. A long and painful death by the hands of his best friend.

"I have time." – Arthur growled, actually growled. Merlin narrowed his eyes, for a moment Harry wondered if he was sensed if he was telling the truth or not.

"Well, you see, I am a magic wielder." – That much truth couldn't be denied, obviously. – "I was travelling around, learning new things when I stumbled upon princess Hermione's kingdom."

What? Hermione stared at him. But it seemed to work, since Arthur seemed more intent to listen. The same couldn't be said about Merlin however.

"The king, princess Hermione's father, is not a friendly man. In fact, he is very cruel, strict, and merciless. He enslaved the kingdom and when princess Hermione protested, the king even imprisoned his own daughter." – Judging by the look on his friend's face, Harry would give a vague guess that she was having a heart attack. Play along indeed. Harry's imagination was going wild. – "When he found out I am a magic wielder, the king wished for me to use my magic to change the princess's mind, making her as.. well, the same as him, as cruel and merciless, evil and etc… I couldn't bring myself to harm such a fragile and pure creature such as the princess. So I vowed myself to protect her from the evil king. I helped her run away from the castle, and… well we were still running until we… eh… stumbled upon you, your Highness." – Harry added hastily, remembered the title he once heard on TV.

"What kingdom did you mention? Do I know it?" – Arthur's question hit Harry like a brick. He had slept through this History of Magic lesson, it seemed.

"It is quite far away, I'm not sure…" – Harry's hope was dropping with every word he uttered. The suspicion grew clearer and clearer on Arthur and Merlin's faces.

"Hogwart." – Harry's gaze dropped on Hermione, who, brilliantly, had performed a tearful performance to add more believable detail to Harry's make-shift story. – "It is very far away. I insisted Harry to take me as far as possible. I couldn't stay there any moment longer…" – The witch's shoulder was shaking with sobs, and her voice trailed off, which made it seemed like the memories were so hurtful that it brought tremendous pain to her. Point to Arthur for looking sheepish.

The only one who looked like still needed convincing was Merlin.

"Prince Arthur, please don't make me go home." – Hermione turned on full crying mode, which even made Harry uncomfortable. – "I… I can't… Please! I'd do anything, but please… I can't go back to that hell, not ever again! I can't keep looking at my father's crimes and do nothing anymore! Please prince Arthur…"

Somewhere between all the sobbing and crying mess, the witch made her way into leaning on Arthur's shoulder. The young prince looked helpless.

"I think we should go back to the castle." – He sighed. – "My father needs to be informed."


	5. King Uther was confused

King Uther, for the lack of words, was confused.

His son, along with his clumsy manservant, had disappeared into the wood for some hunt (they thought they hid it well but he could see it clear as daylight as they rode out of the gate from his window). Then he turned back, with a crying girl who claimed to be a princess of some kingdom called _Hogwarts_ (what kind of name even? He would call Gaius to ask about it later) and her companion, who was clearly a wizard. He only had half a mind to put the man in jail waiting for trial, because the princess clunged to him like dear life. King Uther was still confused about the duo. They swore on their life that they meant no harm, and when King Uther insisted on the guard, the princess performed such a heart-breaking and convincing act of how the wizard was her only trusted friend in the world, and how they escaped the wretched kingdom of her father and ran together until they stumbled upon Arthur and Merlin.

It was very confusing.

And to mess up his day even more, when the guards surrounded the wizard, Morgana bursted in and sided with the princess defending that bloody man.

King Uther gave up after that. He shooed the girls away, along with " _their wizard friend_ " (like _what!?_ ). Arthur was more than gleeful to escort the princess (now came to think about it, King Uther realized he didn't even bother to remember her name) to her chamber. But the king then caught the suspicious glance of Merlin the manservant of his son.

So he called Merlin back.

"You saw them in the wood with Arthur." – The King said. – "What do you think of them? Speak."

The boy fidgeted, King Uther hated to admit, but the manservant was loyal and honest, a good friend for his son, despite his absent-minded nature. If there were someone King Uther trusted Arthur's life with, it would be this boy.

"They seemed to mean no harm." – Merlin replied. King Uther quirked his eyebrow, silently asking for more. – "But I would not trust their story, you Majesty. There seems to be more about both the princess and the wizard."

The King nodded, this boy had good sense. – "I want you to keep an eye on them." – He told Merlin. – "Arthur is clearly taken with the princess, if either of them had the faintest ill intention toward him, I want you to report to me. Protect Arthur, with all your life."

Merlin looked up to meet his eyes, King Uther saw the stony determination far older than the boy's age. – "With all my life, you Majesty."

King Uther nodded, and dismissed the boy.

* * *

Considering the resentment King Uther held against magic in general, Hermione and Harry's chambers were rather nice. Their chambers were next to each other, and in case of emergency, Hermione would just have to yell and Harry would be there in a blink. They were also only 'a corridor away' from Morgana (as the girl cheerfully informed them) who according to history was the most powerful soceress of all time and the enemy of King Arthur and Merlin. Yet all of them, all of these legendary figures, they chatted and bantered all the way from the throne room to the two Hogwarts students' chambers, and their bickering was still heard even as they had left.

Flopping down on the bed in a very unladylike manner, Hermione finally let out a shuddering breath. In less than an hour, the brightest witch of her age had cried more than seven years of Hogwarts combined, all the while she just wanted to burst out laughing at how absurd their situation was. Camelot! They were in freaking Camelot! A bubble of laughter escaped Hermione. She freaking fell on top of the legendary King Arthur. Well, not 'King' yet, he was still a prince, either way she fell on him.

There was a knock on the door. - "Hermione, it's me Harry."

"Oh, thank Merlin." - The brunette abandoned the thought of getting out of bed, knowing it was her best friend. - "Just come in."

As Harry's head poke through the door, Hermione realised he thought she was still mad at him. As matter of fact, she still was, but Hermione was not one to hold grudge forever, especially with her friends. "Hey." The brunette smiled, and Harry relaxed visibly. She watched as the Boy Who Lived tentatively closed the door behind before taking a seat on the giant bed.

"What do we do now, Hermione?"

Ah, of course, she was the one who everyone turned to when they needed consulting. Harry was watching her with utter and complete concetration, as if she could just POP and gone, leaving him behind dealing with mediaval culture, with full the hatred for magic. Again, Hermione found her situation hilariously absurd. Waving her wand to make sure no one would be able to eavesdrop them *cough, especially a powerful socerer, cough*, she motioned for Harry it was safe to reveal the broken Time Turner.

The golden necklace lied innocently on the bed between two teenagers, who were staring at it expectantly as if their will could mend it back. Hermione's brows knitted together into a straight line, her mind gears working at full speed to recall every single piece of knowledge about time travel.

* * *

Merlin rolled his eyes as he stood respectfully in Arthur's chamber, listening to the prince drone on and on about their new guests, with the princess's name mentioned in every sentence. His patience was tested on a new level as Morgana bursted in and proceeded to also gush about how _charming_ the newly arrived wizard was, especially with his green soulful eyes. Merlin caught Gwen's eyes, as she too appeared to be sick of the gushing session. This was petite of him, Merlin knew, to dislike the young wizard just because the wizard had somehow escaped King Uthor's resentful (and unfair) treatment against magic-wielders in general. But truly, it was unfair, as the guy could brag around about his power and still be protected by the princess, while him, Merlin, had to hide his true nature ever since he could remember. It was just so _unfair_ that Merlin could not help feeling bitter about it.

"What do you think, Merlin? Would princess Hermione like the colour red on me?" - Arthur's voice snapped Merlin out of his thought. The crown prince was staring at him in half annoyance as he held out his new red cape, waiting for a "yes, absolutely" from his manservant. Merlin gulped.

"Oh, I would have to choose a dress too!" - Morgana exclaimed, grabbing Gwen's wrist as the two girls rush out of the room. - "What do you think Lord Harry's favourite colour is?" Their voices were still echoing down the corridor, as Gwen literally begged Morgana not to buy another dress because she already had thousands of them in all colours.

Merlin's attention was once again snapped back to the prince as Arthur threw a goblet at him. The prince bristled about how useless Merlin was, as usual, for about two sentences before trailing back to the topic of princess Hermione. Merlin bit back a sigh as he was ordered to help Arthur prepare for dinner that night.

What the hell, he was by Arthur's side all the time, there was no way the prince could be under a love spell. Merlin would know. Yet why did he talk and talk so much? And then there was also King Uther's order that Merlin had to keep an eye on the guests. Whatever, the sooner these two unexpected visitors left, the better for Merlin.


	6. A Princess Doesn't Slump Like This

Harry was lying on the bed, watching his best friend Hermione storming around her chamber furiously, as none of her plans to bring them home safely was plausible. There was a plot hole in every single plan, whether it was a missing ingredient, or a particular timing, like a literal blue moon or so.

Deciding to let Hermione's brilliant mind work on it own, Harry summoned a paper and a quill, then began concocting his own master plan. Someone needed to make their story believable for King Uther, whom Harry had learnt to bear a fierce hatred against magic. As the brainy witch was busy with her own plan, the Boy Who Lived decided that someone was him.

Let's start with the beginning. Hermione was the crown princess of a wretched kingdom called ' _Hogwarts_ '. Due to her father's cruelty, Hermione had asked Harry – a powerful, kind and wise wizard who happened to visit their kingdom at the time – to help her escape. They had been on the run for approximately four months by the time they stumbled upon Camelot (now that was what a kingdom should be named as). They had decided it was safer for the princess to hide away in another kingdom, waiting for her father's life to be over, and then she would come back and reclaim her throne. Of course, still with the help of the kind and wise Harry Potter.

Yes, finally years of sneaking hours watching Dudley's TV paid off. Harry grinned broadly at his own scrappy handwriting, not noticing a particular witch creeping up behind him.

"Ouch!" – Harry cried out, rubbing the spot where Hermione just hit him. The supposed princess ignored him and went for the paper. Harry watched his friend wearily as her eyes grew wider with every word she read.

"Hear me out." – Harry said as soon as Hermione finished reading. – "We don't know how long it takes to fix a Time Turner. We can't tell exactly how long we'll have to stay here. I don't know about you but I'd rather stay inside a medieval castle than camping in the forest – again. That means we need an appropriate and believable story to sooth Uther's hatred toward magic, and since I have already made up the main part of it, I think it's be better if I finish the story, so there would not be any suspicious details. Okay?"

The Choosen One watched anxiously as Hermione's mind gear start running for another solution, which he strongly believe to be none. Eventually, the brightest witch of her age sighed, rubbed her forehead, and flopped down the bed next to him.

"So?" – Harry prompted.

Breathing out another exhausting sigh, Hermione groaned. – "Harry, I can't be a princess."

His eyebrows knitted together into a straight line. What?

"I don't know how to be a princess!" – Hermione elaborated impatiently at his clueless expression. – "I don't know how to dress like one, or walk or talk or eat like a royalty! My parents are dentists, Harry, and I grew up surrounded by a bunch of boys, no offense but you guys aren't the greatest source when it comes to manners."

"Well, but you know history! Surely there must be some etiquette class thing they mention in those books. There are so many words on them!" Harry exclaimed, to which he earned an huff from his friend.

"It's not the same thing."

Silence.

A bulb went off on Harry's head. – "Doctor Who!"

Hermione gave him an incredulous look. "Come one, Hermione, you grew up as a muggle, surely you have to know Doctor Who. Just copy whatever the Doctor does." – Harry said, excited at the fact he came up with a solution before Hermione twice a day. But the girl just shrugged hopelessly and destroyed Harry's joy.

"What's Doctor Who?" – She asked.

It was Harry's turn to give her an incredious look. – "You gotta be kidding me."

Hermione shrugged again.

"Come on! The Ninth Doctor? Tenth? Rose? Bad Wolf?"

Hermione shook her head helplessly.

Harry groaned and falling back to the bed. "And they said you were muggle-born."

"What's Doctor Who?" – Hermione repeated. Rubbing his eyes, Harry tried to think of an answer that sounded the least crazy about his favourite show. – "It's about a Time Lord, a thousand years old man who travelled through time and space to help people. That's the basic of it."

"Okay." Harry could feel Hermione nodding beside him. "But", she continued, albeit a bit hesitantly, "how did you know about that show?"

Without opening his eyes, Harry grinned, remembering his most joyous time at the Dursley's. – "I might steal Dudley's old TV and his DVDs collection of Doctor Who. He wouldn't need them anyway, Dudley only bought those DVDs to show off and threw them away the next moment. Lucky me, I guess."

Hearing Hermione's chuckle and deeming it to be safe enough to bring up the etiquette class again, Harry took a deep breath and got up off the bed. – "Right, so since I am the more royal of us thanks to my Doctor Who experience, then I shall be the one to introduce you to the grand and extravagant world of royalty, Princess Hermione." He dipped in a clumsy graceless bow, extending a hand to Hermione. When she did not take it, Harry waved the hand expectantly. – "Don't be lazy, Hermione, a princess must be on time."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione went to grab his hand and let him drag her to the middle of the room.

"Now first, a princess doesn't slump like this."

Hermione broke into a fit of giggles.

* * *

 **Okay, confession time: I really don't know where I'm even heading with this story, I just have so much fun writing it. So thank you for reading this, and expecially those who spend sometimes leaving reviews. Best wishes for you all *throw petals every where***


	7. A Royal Dinner

Dinner was quite a feast itself, thought King Umber as he absent-mindedly rubbed his forehead and watched the scene displayed in front of him.

King Uther did not mean to make the dinner a grand event despite the newly-arrived royal guests. What he had intended to do was to keep it small and private in order to learn of his guests better. However, his son Arthur had really outdone himself when ordered the cooks to prepare a royal feast to greet the princess _what-her-name-was_. And now as they were chatting amiably over meal, King Uther had to gathered all of his will power not to face palm in front of the kids.

On his right was Arthur The Royal Headache, whose attention was placed sorely on the foreign princess who was seated on the left of King Uther. The King noted she barely ate anything, probably due to nervousness. That was reasonable, given how she had abandoned her title and kingdom altogether to run away for months with a strange and dangerous man.

Said man was seated on the other side of the princess, opposite to Morgana, whose eyes seemed to be locked on the sorcerer's face as she hung on every word he said. That did nothing to lift up King Uther's mood, as he knew exactly the kind of danger a man like that could pose to anyone, any kingdom. His brows knitted almost into a straight line as Morgana's bell-like laughters rang through the room at something the sorcerer said.

"Well, that was quite an adventure you had, Lord Harry." Morgana smiled, tilting her head aside. The King groaned inwardly.

"What is it?" – Arthur chimed in without missing a beat upon hearing the word 'adventure'. The sorcerer's eyes widened at the atttention he was receiving from the royal company.

"Lord Harry was merely entertaining me with his former adventure before arriving at Princess Hermione's kingdom." – Replied Morgana smugly, as if being the receiving end of a sorcerer was something to be proud of. The forementioned princess put her knives and forks down and turned to her companion.

"Oh, which one?" She asked.

The black hair man smiled sheepishly. "Nothing new you haven't heard about yet. I was recalling the time when w_ when I, when I stumbled upon the first dragon I've ever seen."

As Arthur excitedly leaned forward demanding to hear the story, King Uther squinted his eyes suspiciously at his guest. Did he just hear a slip? Or was it simply a choke? His gaze swept over the male guest before moving onto the princess. While a polite smile was plastered on her face, her posture was rigid and tense. Hm… something to ponder over it seemed.

* * *

Arthur could not simply believe his luck. The dinner was a success, the cooks had outdone themselves. He made a mental note to send them a thank you for their work. Princess Hermione seemed to be smiling all the time, though she must have been tired of the day's events. Regardless, the princess proved to be an excellent conservation partner. She nodded and smiled attentively at his stories, gasped at appropriate times, and encouraged him to tell more. Not even his father paid him that much amount of attention during the few hours he had spent in her company. The warning signs Arthur's father tried to plant in his head earlier quickly flew out of the windows as the evening went on and on.

Then her companion, the sorcerer, just had to mentioned dragon. DRAGON! Screw safety cautions, Arthur needed to talk with this man. Turn out they did share quite a number of commons, who knew! As they shared storied of beasts they have encountered, Lord Harry also offered Arthur some tips to deal with dangerous and magical creatures. He started to understand how the princess had decided to trust the lord to protect her. Despite his… unique nature, Lord Harry proved to be a man of honour and courage, the kind of man Arthur had always wanted to befriend with.

Maybe not all magic was bad. Maybe just there were only bad people using magic to do bad things. Maybe that was the explanation. Arthur high-fived himself mentally, it was hard to picture a man like Lord Harry to be cruel, and it was even harder, impossible even, to imagine someone who was as sweet and gentle as princess Hermione travelling with someone evil.

The evening ended way too soon to Arthur's liking. As graceful as he was raised to be, the prince offered to take princess Hermione back to her chamber. His ego was given a boost as her cheeks flamed up at his offer.

"Thank you for the dinner, your Highness. It was lovely." – Princess Hermione smiled at him, and Arthur had to bite his lips not to grin broadly like Merlin-in-love. He was not a lovesick peasant.

"You are welcome, Princess Hermione. And I aslo thank you for the wonderful company you have offered me this evening. I had worried that you must have been exhausted after such an eventful day." Arthur tilted his head aside, searching for her face. In fact, he was still worried that the dinner might wear her down too much. However, to his delight, the princess shook her head and chuckled.

"As I said, dinner was lovely, so was the company." She blinked at him through her eyelashes. They stopped in front of her door. "Thank you, your Highness, for everything."

As cliché as it sounded, Arthur's breath seemed to be taken away at Hermione's smile. He had to remind his lungs to refunction and his brain to work up an appropriate reply.

"Please call me Arthur." He blurted out, "Your Highness seems a bit mouthful and unnescessary, given how we both have the same royal status."

Princess Hermione widened her eyes at his suggestion, and in a moment of panic, Arthur wondered if it was too straight-forward or too early for them to jump up to first names.

"Arthur." - She tested his name on her tongue. The prince held his breath in anticipation. - "I rather like it." – Again, her smile... – "And so I would have to insist you to call me Hermione, even though it is one syllable longer than _'your highness'_ I suppose."

The nervous bubble inside Arthur escaped into a relief laugh, and Hermione chuckled softly. Remembering that she must have been tired, Arthur bowed down and kissed her hand gently.

"So be it, then. Goodnight, Hermione. I shall not bother you any longer."

"Goodnight to you too, Arthur." – She replied with a bow, and then retreated into her chamber.

Turning around, Arthur whistled to himself as he skipped back to his own chamber. Kicking the door open, he announced loudly to a sleeping Merlin.

"I am so glad we sneaked out hunting this morning."

A stupid grin plastered on his face, but Arthur was way too high up in cloud ninth to care.


	8. The Only Danger

**I am so sorry for ditching you guys for so long, but life is cruel man! Anyway, here's the new chapter. Please tell me what you think about it. Thanks!**

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, at Hogwarts_**

Ron stared expectantly at Professor McGonagall. For someone else, he seemed to be deep in thought, posibly about the safety of his two bestfriends, but in fact, Ron's brain had frozen.

"Well, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall prompted.

Ron fixed his stare on her for a good little while, before the ice in his brain started slowly melting away. "I'm sorry, Professor, can you repeat what you said?"

The old teacher released a long suffering sigh that did wonder to Ron's brain: it came alive. But he was not sure how the heck he could be alive if this was reality.

"As I said, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger had some how transported themselves back in time. Due to the evidents left at the scene and the testimony of several paintings nearby, we believed that there was a small disagreement before the travel, which may or may not have caused a disruption in the timeline. The result of which is, we don't know where, or exactly when, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger are."

Ron barked out a laugh, which he quickly covered up by a cough, even though that old little trick could not escape the experienced woman in front of him anyway. Typical Harry and Hermione, truly. Instead of running away from troubles, the three of them were more likely to seek troubles out. If anything, Ron felt sorry that he could not go with them. Imagine it! Time travel! Merlin's beard, they could have flown to Camelot and met King Arthur for all he knew!

"Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall called, the redhead quickly looked up. "What do you suggest we do now?"

Ron shrugged. "You got the war hero and the brightest witch of our age together on a field trip, I really don't see the reason to fuss over. Harry and Hermione are both grown up now, they are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Beside, school is over, if you are worried about the public, let me deal with them. I just got myself a vacation from George, I'll tell those nosy reporters that the Golden Trio are in Madagasca or somewhere."

"Aren't you a little bit worried about your friends, Ron?" McGonagall asked finally, Ron levelled a look at his former professor.

"With all honesty, Professor, do you really think there is any danger out there that Harry and Hermione can't take care of?" He replied with a question of his own. To Ron's surprise, the strict look on the professor's face melted slightly and was replaced by something his mother would wear anytime one of her children told her they had to travel somewhere far away.

"But they got you before, Ron." She said. "There is a reason people call you The Golden Trio, not Duo. You are a part of the group, we are all here today because all three of you had worked together as a team, a family. I know you have your self-doubt when being with Harry and Hermione, and sometimes you believe they are better off without you. But, hear this old woman out, they are not. Right now, right at this moment we are talking in this office, Harry and Hermione are lost somewhere in time, without you by their side, and I think, that is the sole danger The Boy Who Lived and The Brightest Witch of her age are incapable of dealing with."

* * *

Harry sighed deeply, rolled over and pulled the blanket up his eyes to block out the sun. It felt like he had just laid down a few seconds ago. The alarm in his hazy brain went off for some unknown reason, which was nonsense, because today was Sunday.

Today was Sunday.

Crap.

Harry kicked off the blanket and bolted up right on the bed. Something was off, he blinked several time until the furniture of the chamber became clear to him. Too expensive for a dorm…

Right, another day at Camelot. A weight seemed to settle down on his stomach, it was Sunday, and he was in Camelot. Harry stared at the fireplace in his chamber in expectation, as if out of nowhere, a green flame would flare up, and Ron's head would pop out grinning at him.

Not gonna happen.

Instead of the much hoped for flame, Harry went for the basin and started washing up. He and Hermione were in Camelot for a whole week now, things had started to get less and less ridiculous, such as the fact that both of them had maids waiting outside their door. Harry dreaded that. Not the maids, they were just doing their jobs, but the feeling. He longed for the ridiculousness that medieval people carried their tasks out, not the familiarity that had started creeping up his vein. A breakfast was waiting him on the table already when Harry turned around, a royal breakfast. Harry picked it up with a fork, a suffering sigh escaped him. If Ron were here, he would find a way to make fun of their situation, and Harry needed that. He could not find the fun in their little adventure anymore.

After breakfast, Harry ventured out of his chamber, just to hide in Hermione's. Like usual, his bestfriend greeted him with a tired smile.

"Morning, Harry." Hermione said with a sigh.

"Morning, Hermione." For a sunny day, the two of them seemed to be way gloomy. Harry pinched his nose as he sat down on the chair opposite of his friend. "How was the walk with his Royal Highness last night?"

As expected, Hermione shot him a glare, which he replied with a grin. It had not escaped him how Prince Arthut had taken a liking to Hermione immediately, and each day the prince insisted to come up with a new activity for both of them. Last night, Arthur had taken Hermione to the Astronomy Tower.

"It was fine." Hermione deadpaned. Harry quirked up one of his eyebrows. "Just fine?" He drawled out.

"Fine." Hermione's tone was too bitter to be 'fine'. Her eyes squinted up when Harry's grin refused to come off. "And how was your library trip with Lady Morgana last night, Harry?"

Both corners of Harry's lips dropped right after that, while a smirk was evident on Hermione's. "It was fine." – Harry repeated his friend's earlier statement.

"Just fine?" At least Hermione raised a cup of tea up to cover her smirk. Harry rolled his eyes. "She seems nice, pretty, and eager to learn."

Harry levelled a glare at the witch by his side, but he said nothing to encourage the subject. Instead, he chose another safe route. "So you have any plan today?"

To his surprise, Hermione shook her head. – "Arthur had to go on a patrol and would not be back soon, so I am free at last. I am so tired of keeping smiling and nodding for him. What were the historians thinking? He is nothing like the righteous Arthur in the book."

"What is he like?" Harry asked, curiosity sparked up in him. He rarely got the chance to talk with the prince these days, maybe it was part of Umber's doing to separate his son and magic alltogether.

"Boy." Hermione put down her cup of tea. "Just a boy, like you, like Ron. Silly, naïve, eager to prove himself."

"Everyone was a boy before they grow up." Said Harry wisely.

"And I don't think Merlin likes me."

Harry sat up straighter on his seat. The legendary wizard of all time did not like the brightest witch of her age? That sure was going down on hsitory. "Why do you think so?" He asked.

Hermione's brows knitted, and she examined her fingers carefully before replying. "He is watching like a hawk. He keeps a respectable distance between us, but whenever Arthur asked me of my past, I feel like Merlin is trying to uncover all the lies I utter."

"Maybe you are just paranoid." Harry tried to reason, Hermione snorted.

"Unlikely. Do you remember the theory that Merlin belongs to Slytherin?" Seeing Harry nod, the witch continued. "I think that maybe true, with all the hovering he's been doing lately."

"Have you told Arthur?" Harry asked, which resulted in an incredulous look from Hermione.

"Why though? He did not try to harm me. Beside," –his bestfriend sighed, smoothing down her dress, then stood up. "we are not to interfere with history, Harry. We're clear of this from the beginning. I would not cause any rift between Arthur and Merlin. Who knows what the consequences would be?"

"Where are you going?" – Harry called, as Hermione seemed to head out of the room.

"These last few days Arthur had taken me around the castle." – She said without looking back at Harry. –"It gives me an idea, but I'd like to test it out first. Are you coming with me?"

"To where?" Why did she even ask? After all they had gone through, he would walk to a dragon's den with her without quesstioning the reason.

"Just come with me."


	9. Close, But Not Quite

Harry looked around the throne room cautiously. Last time he was here, Umber was throwing a fit and trying to get him imprisoned. "What are we doing here Hermione? I feel very much unwelcomed in this room."

"Testing my theory." Came Hermione's simple reply. The answer made Harry roll his eyes. "I saw that." His best friend said without looking back, already on her way to the throne.

"What are you doing? We are not supposed to be in this room at the moment, let alone sit on the throne of King Umber!" Harry hissed, tried to keep his voice quiet, even though Hermione had casted a Silence Charm on the room when they stepped in (he was not going to risk his life with Merlin around here, thank you very much). When his hot headed friend showed no sign of hearing him, Harry yanked her back.

Hermione huffed. "The throne does not bite, Harry."

"How would you know that?"

"Now look who is paranoid."

Crossing his arms, it was Harry's turn to huff. "I'm just trying to be responsible."

The determination softened on Hermione's face. Gently, she took his arm and pulled him toward the throne. "Do you remember well, our first Sorting Ceremony?"

"How could I forget?", replied Harry, a wave of nolstagia slowly built up within him. It was the start of something new, the day he was reborn (or felt like it). Hermione stopped him in front of the throne.

"Can you see it in your head?" She asked quietly. Harry nodded.

"As clear as it was happening right now."

"Turn around."

Harry did, the empty throne room met him. "I remember McGonagall led us through the door, the biggest door I have ever since." Hermione whispered next to him. "I was beyond excited, but most of all, I was nervous, when my name was called. We sat here, on the chair, and McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on our heads…"

"…and it said…" Harry smiled, his memory rushed back to him.

"Gryffindor!" He looked to his friend, in her eyes there were tears. "And we ran to that table." She pointed to the left side of the room. "They cheered so loud when you were finally sorted." They both chuckled. Hermione turned away to wipe the tears that were about to fall. Harry took her hand.

"We were so happy, back in those days." He said.

"We were so happy, after we became friends." Hermione said with a laugh. "I was so miserable with all the rules I created to study…"

"To be honest you were always miserable. Remember the third year? A time turner? Really? You were thirteen!"

"And much more responsible than both you and Ron could ever be!"

"And you used it to help a wanted criminal run away."

"I was helping my friends." Hermione stated simply. They stood side by side in silence for a moment, lost in their respective memories, until Harry decided to break the charm.

"What are we doing here exactly, Hermione?" He asked. His friend, the brightest witch of her age, pulled her wand out, and with a simple flick…

"Welcome home, Harry." She laughed at his gasping face, as he looked around.

It was it, it has always been. They have never left. Hogwarts was here. The four tables of four houses, the banners… He turned around in awe before looking back at Hermione with a meriad of questions.

"The Time Turner took us back in time, but in the same places." She explained softly, eyes running along the wall, where she had put up the banners. "When Arthur took me to see the castle, I can't help but notice the farmiliarity, and today confirmed it. Remember the story that Merlin helped the founders build Hogwarts? Maybe this is it, he donated the castle for the school, expanded it, made it a place where us magic wielders can live and learn in harmony, away from the discrimination of the muggles. The astronomy tower is eerily similar to our tower, Harry, the Griffindor one, that for a moment I thought I was back home! And have you noticed the colors? Arthur always wear red and gold. Merlin always have something blue. Morgana prefers dark green and Gwen, her maid, the one history said to be Arthur's queen, seems to stick to the bronze color. Harry, I seriously think we are in the pre-Hogwarts era."

Harry kept open and closing his mouth. Of course she noticed, brilliant Hermione. She had seen the entire castle, and she had walked Hogwarts millions of time in her life. If anyone realized Camelot and Hogwarts are the same, it was her.

"Hermione, you are brilliant!" Harry barked out a laugh and picked her up in a bone-breaking hug.

"Harry, put me down!" Hermione replied with a laugh of her own. "We haven't figured out how to get back to our time yet!"

That stopped Harry.

"Any idea, the Boy Who Lived?" Teased Hermione. Harry bit his lips.

"You said this is pre-Hogwarts." His best friend nodded. "And the castle of our time era was expanded." Another nod. "Hermione, what if we find an original section of the castle and leave a message? There's still one week left till summer vacation, there are still plenty of students and professors at Hogwarts. Granted, most of them would rather spend time outsides, but what if someone read our message? We may not have enough material to fix our Time Turner here, but what if in the future someone can help us?"

He watched as Hermione silently mused through his plan, and almost sagged with relief when she nodded. "Not a bad idea. We know where the Gryffindor tower is, so let's assume that the tower we are residing in is Ravenclaw tower. So, let's say…"

"Hermione, what if King Umber's room is the Headmaster's office?" Harry cut in.

There were many emotions running across Hermione's face, most of which Harry could name, as they were similar to his own. Shock, hope, realization, horror, scheming, disappointment…

"How the bloody hell are we gonna break in the King's room and leave a message for people in thousand years in the future to notice?" They spoke at the same time.

Harry looked at his friend, as she quickly dismissed the possibility of breaking in Umber's room under the nose of the greatest wizard of all time, Merlin. Yeah, that sounded not very wise, and coming from someone who used to had suicide tendency like him, it meant something.

"How about Gryffindor tower?" Hermione suggested, to which Harry groaned.

"Hermione, you know just as well as I do that there would be none of the students left in the damn tower when there's only a week away from summer!"

"Well, that's our shot!" Hermione shot back fiercely. "The astronomy tower has only a few guards, and they have seen me. I can fish out some lame excuse for us to go there – star gazing something or even some Trelawney's bullshit – and, I don't know, carved in the wall or something! A piece of paper would not do, it would surely rot. We ought to carve on the wall." She repeated, more to herself than to Harry. "Then use a charm to maintain the message. Keep it simple, yes, meaningful, that is the key…"

Hermione walked back and forth to a circle, mumbling to herself. Harry sighed, gazing at the remaining four tables with longing. They were so close to home, he thought. Maybe, in thousand years into the future, McGonagall is standing right where he was right then, watching her students having breakfast. She must have noticed their mysterious disappearance. Harry wondered what she made of it, who she had informed since. Had she told Ron? Would Ron come back? Harry knew his business with George was succeeding, the Weasleys brothers were closer than ever, since Fred's unfortunate passing. If it were between his friends and his brother, Harry asked himself, who would Ron choose? Would he…

There were scarping at the door, and Harry only had a second to pull Hermione to a curtain nearby to hid, while she sent a quick spell that disolve the tables and banners into thin air.

Two sets of footsteps walked into the room, and Harry strained his ears to identify who were talking while a shuddering cold ran down his spine, marking Hermione's spell to hide them. His heart seemed to skip a beat, when he heard the one and only Merlin's voice.

"The prince has not talked much to the socerer, Your Majesty. He spent most of his time with princess Hermione." The ancient wizard said, to which, King Umber's voice replied.

"Hmm. I could have been more relieved if he spent time with neither of them. Merlin, what have you got on them so far?"

There was a pause, before Merlin's voice rang up again, this time, closer to the two students of Hogwarts. "The socerer spends most of his time retelling Lady Morgana of his tales, and reduced to perform almost no magic, unless the Lady keeps on insisting. But I am more concerned about the princess."

Behind the curtain, Harry and Hermione exchanged a look of horror.

"So you have noticed."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Prince Arthur keeps on rambling nonstop about her. He had talked to me about how he planned to help her reclaim her kingdom."

'What!' mouthed Hermione, looking pale. Harry put a finger on his lips and shook his head.

"Is there any chance my son is under a love spell, Merlin?" King Umber's voice sounded exhausted. "God knows, I just want to protect my son from all the evil of this world."

Merlin hesitated before answering. "I do not think so, Your Majesty. But I do think the princess has something hidden, and I too, want to protect Prince Arthur with all means."

There were only silence left, and Harry panicked with the idea that his and Hermione's heartbeats were too loud.

King Umber sighed deeply and sat down on the throne. "Keep watching, Merlin. I trust your instinct to protect Arthur, you are a good and loyal friend of his, the best choice he has made so far. I want so much for him, Merlin, but I can feel it in my bone now, my time is running. And I fear for my son, with his pure heart, could be so easily tricked into danger."

They heard Merlin's footstep toward and then out of the thone room. There was only King Umber left, with two petrified wizards from the future hiding behind a curtain.


End file.
